Thread cutter for bobbin winders



1951 w. E. HENDRICKS THREAD CUTTER FOR BOBBIN WINDERS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed April 21, 1945 INVENTOR -J/udmy Nov. 13, 1951 w. E. HENDRICKS 2,575,015

THREAD CUTTER FOR BOBBIN WINDERS Filed April 21, 1945 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 INVENTOR IQAATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 13, 1951 .UiNlTfE D {PATENT 1 Massachusetts, pplication IA piilQ21,

' 9 -Glaims.

yarn to the bobbinin'ordertostart the winding of it thereon. It is considered objectionable if left hanging on *the discharged'bobbin. 'The attachment of theend "of 'yarn to the bobbin is commonly done by "causing it to "be pinched between the'butt end "of the bobbin and the chuck in which it is "held and by; which'itisrotated, the scrap end being the length "of yarn whichextends more-or less axially of the bobbin, as from the point of pinching, running over the butt to the-beginning of the mass 'o'fyarn wound on the stempart of the bobbin. Where it crosses -the butt thisyarn lies over one or more ridges or shoulders thereon. Heretofore .its removal has been accomplished by mechanism which ad: vanced thepoint of a'knifeinto the path "of the yarnadj'acent such shoulder, where ithe yarn stands 'o'fi from the'bobbimand without touching the bobbin, thus "causingthe yarn 'to be cut by its own movement against the knife. Such method of cutting calls for an extremelyclose'adjustment of the advancing strokegiven to the knife in order that itwill cut the yarn without cutting and thereby injuring the bobbin.

This invention eliminates the need for such delicate stroke adjustment and accomplishes .this object by so organizing the knife and its'holding means that contact of the knife with the bobbin may occur, but withoutany resulting injury, .and

the invention also offers further advantages as will appear'below, including facilities .whereby the knife can be quickly accommodated to use with bobbins that are woundby rotation in the opposite direction to that which is ordinary.

The accompanying t drawings show P a preferred form of the invention applied to a standard winding machine -showing =nomore of the latter than is necessary to illustrate the-relationof the .inventionto it.

reversed in position;

Fig. '6' is a detail of the knife holder; Fig. fl'is aiplan of-Fig.'5;

-= s'ig nor--to whitin Machine Wrks, acorporation 1945, serial No.589,540 (01. 242-19 Figs. 8, 9 and 10arerespectively sections on-the -correspondingly numbered lines of Fig. '-7,-and

Fig. 11 is adiagram.

The standard-machine'onwhich the invention is shown functions as follows: The bobbin i is held between rotary head and tail centers -or chucks, 2 and 3, of-which the head-chuck '2 r0- tates thereby to rotate'the-bobbin,being'alsoretractable to releaseitwhen'the winding has-been completed. 'Empty bobbins are brought into line between head and tail chucks by a carrier i, which recedes as soonasthe headchuck has advanced so as to clamp the bobbin in "position between itself and-the-tail'chuck. Asthebobbin rotates, the yarn is guided to it by the'oscillating yarn guide 5, whichisslowly'advanced alongthe length of the bobbin to laya'filling wind. When the bobbin hasbecome fullywound the chuck 2 withdraws, thereby allowing the bobbin to "drop 'intothe chute 6 'below,'where it is retainedmomentarily while the hooks l and 8 grasp the yarn A trailing from "it and draw it into the action of the shears?! and-also over the face of thenow stationary chuck 2,where it-will-be pinched between the chuck and the next arriving empty bobbin. When the'yarn has been thu's pinched, the shears 9 sever it from the-bobbin-in the'chute and the bobbin is thenallowed to escape *to a place of deposit.

The means for operating allof these'parts, as

well 'as'others'not shown, are contained within a'casing H] and do notneed tobe describe-d because they. form' no "part of this invention and su'chmechanisms are quite :well .known 'in the art.

The casing lofor'ms'the support "of the horizontal slideway'rod H on which the carriage 12 of the thread-guide travels in the process .of winding, such rod being parallel to the bobbin.

' The .carriageis advanced by a-chain 1 3 ..driven by apawl operated sprocketwheel I 4 mounted-on "the exterior of the casing .and against the tension of a springl5, which-retracts thecarriageto its starting point when the winding 'has been completed. The yarn-guide 511s an armon an upright rock-shaft 16,.journalled in the carriage l2 with a crank arm -Il for engagement bya rocker arm IS on 'aro'ck-shaft l9 extending parallel'to the travel of the carriage. The rocking of the arm l8 oscillates "the thread-guide, whileit travels along the slideway rod, thereby'pro'ducing a filling wind. This mechanism also is standard in the machine referred'to.

According to this invention the" means for cutting ofi the-scrap end comprises a-bracket 2il,-*appropriately fixed to any appropriate support such as the casing l8 and forming the journal support for a knife-supporting member such as the knife arm 2| which moves or swings thereon to and from the bobbin. In the present case this arm is fixed on an axle 22 journaled in the bracket 20 and is under the influence of a spring or a spring plunger such as 23 tending to rotate the axle and swingthe knife arm away from the bobbin, its motion away from the bobbin being limited by a stop finger 24, or in any other way.

The arm is moved toward the bobbin by the action of a cam plate 25, which in this case is formed on or afiixed to the thread-guide carriage I2. This cam plate rides under and engages the lower edge of an adjustable crank arm, in the form of a segment 26 adjustably fixed to the knife arm, or its axle 22, thereby swinging the free end of the arm toward the bobbin. The adjustability of the segment is for locating the stroke of the knife arm so that it will make a proper approach to the bobbin. It is accomplished by means of the arcuate slot in the segment and the set screw 21 as will be clear in the drawing.

The knife 28 is movably carried on the end of the knife arm and by means permitting its adjustment to a particular position thereon with relation to the rotating bobbin. For this purpose it is movably or pivotally mounted in a holder 29 and is therein subject to the action of a very light spring 38. The holder is made adjustable on the end of the arm by means of the slot and screw attachment 3|, or in any way, and can be set so that when the knife has reached its closest point of approach to the bobbin it will, or may, encounter the bobbin but only by its smooth lower (non-cutting) edge 32, and then only very lightly, because of the slenderness of the spring 3D. In this position of contact the sharp point of the knife will be spaced slightly away from the bobbin surface so that it cannot scratch or cut it, but

not so far but that it can ride under .the yarn passing over the adjacent bobbin shoulder (la) and thereby sever it. The relation (and the yarn being slightly spaced from the surface of the bobbin at this point as it were, by reason of passing over the shoulder la) is illustrated in magnified scale in Fig. 11, wherein it will be clear that the contact of the knife against the bobbin occurs just back of the knife point, on the lower edge or sole of the blade which is non-cutting. The inner face of the sloping wall 33 of the knife holder 29 forms a back stop against which the spring 38 normally urges the knife 28 but when the non-cutting edge 32 of the knife 28 engages the bobbin, the spring 38 allows the knife 28 to be moved away from the back stop 33. The spring 30 thus holds the knife 28 in position regardless of variations in the diameters of different bobbins and permits self-adjustment of the knife 28 to irregularities or deformations in individual bobbins. The rotation of the bobbin carries the yarn against the sharp edge of the knife above its point, and the severed yarn falls away to be disposed of by simple gravity or otherwise as desired. As shown in the drawing the yarn-cutting or sharp edge of the knife faces away from the bobbin. Since the knife 28 engages the bobbin, the bobbin supports the knife 28 against the thrust of the yarn against the knife.

At the same time the construction described obviously permits an adjustment of the knife so that it will catch and cut the yarn without advancing so far as to have any contact whatever with the bobbin and as in prior devices, in which 4 case the virtue of this invention is that in the event of an overthrow of the arm, from any cause, or a slightly wider or deformed bobbin, no possible injury can occur to the latter. In such case the knife touches the bobbin only with its bottom edge and is thereby caused to rock on its pivot (28a) 50 as to swing its point still further away from the bobbin, the pressure of contact being no more than that caused by the very light spring 30.

By the use of a knife holder which is symmetrically shaped, the invention has the further advantage that the device can be very readily accommodated to bobbins which are rotated in the reverse direction to that indicated. This is done by simply removing and reversing the position of the holder 29 on the end of the knife arm as indicated in Figs. 5 and 7.

As a matter of constructional detail, the supporting bracket 20 is shaped box-like to form a roof or closure over the axle 22 and over the knife-actuating cam 25 on the thread-guide carriage, when the latter is near the rotary chuck, thus protecting these parts against the lodgment thereon of the severed scrap end, which might interfere with the action. The particular method of mounting the knife on or in the knife holder is obviously subject to variation so long as the knife is supported so that its first contact with the bobbin, when it has such contact, is by its smooth non-cutting edge 32 and not by its sharp point, and preferably also so that it can yield and therefore cannot bear very hard on the bobbin in any event. Movement of the knife carrier toward or from the bobbin can of course be spring actuated in either direction and in the other direction by any convenient part of the mechanism, but preferably by a cam on the carriage as shown. Also, the knife can be advanced to sever the scrap end at any time after winding has started and before ejection. When it is actuated by the thread-guide carriage it makes its functioning stroke shortly after the winding begins.

I claim:

1. In an automatic bobbin winder of the kind in which the yarn is attached to the bobbin for winding by being pinched between the end of the bobbin and a chuck, means for removing the scrap end thus produced comprising a knifecarrying member provided with means for advancing the knife into contact with the bobbin after winding has commenced, a knife having a smooth non-cutting edge back of its point and mounted on said member so that any contact of it with the bobbin is by said smooth edge rather than the point, said knife being located to intercept and cut the yarn on the bobbin where it is slightly spaced from the surface thereof, and a resilient mounting for securing said knife on said carrier, said mounting permitting relative movement between said knife and said carrier when the knife is pressed to said bobbin.

2. The combination of claim 1 in which the resilient mounting includes a spring which limits the pressure which the knife can exert on the bobbin when in contact therewith.

3. The combination of claim 1 in which the resilient mounting includes a pivot for the knife and a light spring engaging the knife, said knife being arranged to rock on its pivot against such spring on any contact with the bobbin.

4. In an automatic bobbin winder of the kind in which the yarn is attached to the bobbin for winding by being pinched between the end of the bobbin and a chuck, means for removing the scrap end thusproduced comprising a support, a knife arm pivoted thereon, mechanism I for swinging the arm toward the bobbin after winding has commenced and a knife yieldingly mounted on the free end of said arm adapted to be encountered by and to sever the yarn constituting said scrap end, the knife being yieldingly mounted on the free end of the arm to yield with respect thereto in a direction substantially radial to said chuck.

5. In an automatic bobbin winder of the kind in which the yarn is attached to the bobbin for winding by being pinched between the end of the bobbin and a chuck, means for removing the scrap end thus produced comprising a knifesupporting member, means for advancing such member toward and from the bobbin, a knife holder adjustably affixed to said member and a knife yieldingly mounted in said holder and having a non-cutting edge for contact with the bobbin.

6. In an automatic bobbin winder of the kind in which the yarn, at the beginning of the winding, extends substantially axially of the bobbin at the butt end of the bobbin, means for removing the scrap end thus produced comprising a knife having a yarn-cutting edge facing substantially away from the bobbin and a substantially smooth non-cutting edge facing toward the bobbin to engage the bobbin should the bobbin and knife contact each other, and means to move the knife toward and from yarn-severing position, characterized by the fact that a spring is provided between said moving means and knife to hold the knife toward the bobbin yieldingly.

7. In an automatic bobbin winder of the kind in which the yarn, at the beginning of the winding, extends substantially axially of the bobbin at the butt end of the bobbin, means for removing the scrap ends thus produced comprising a knife having a yarn-cutting edge facing substantially away from the bobbin and a substantially smooth non-cutting edge facing toward the bobbin to engage the bobbin should the bobbin and knife contact each other, and means to move the knife toward and from yarn-severing position including an oscillating arm on which the knife is mounted, said knife being mounted movably on said arm to yield when the knife strikes the bobbin.

8. In an automatic bobbin winder of the kind in which the yarn, at the beginning of the winding, extends substantially axially of the bobbin at the butt ends of the bobbin, means for removing the scrap end thus produced comprising a knife having a yarn-cutting edge facing substantially away from the bobbin and a substantially smooth non-cutting edge facing toward the bobbin to engage the bobbin should the bobbin and knife contact each other, and means to move the knife toward and from yarn-severing position, said means including an oscillating arm on which the knife is mounted movably for movement on the arm toward and from the bobbin, and a spring on the arm urging the knife toward the bobbin.

9. In an automatic bobbin winder of the kind in which the yarn is attached to the bobbin for winding by being pinched between the end of the bobbin and a chuck, means for removing the scrap end thus produced comprising a knifecarrying support movably mounted for movement toward and from the bobbin, a knife-holder adjustably fixed to said support and a knife mounted in said holder, characterized by the fact that said holder is reversable, end for end, on said support to face the edge of the knife in opposite directions at the holder, thereby accommodating reverse bobbin rotations.

- WILLIAM E. HENDRICKS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,351,472 Beckmann June 13, 1944 2,449,328 Schweiter Sept. 14, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 543,373 Great Britain Feb. 23, 1942 

